Stanman227
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2023
- Messages
- 3
I have 2 orandas in a 75 gallon i attempted to start the cycle before I got the fish with cycle booster and little bits of food. But I’m not sure I did everything right cause the tanks very cloudyUnfortunately the test strip doesnt test for ammonia which will where water quality issues will first show up.
Test strips are generally not very accurate, they could easily be showing things are fine when in reality they arent.
Your nitrate is zero, which is a sign you arent cycled. Did you cycle the tank before getting the fish? If so, how did you do this? Or are you going to cycle the tank with fish? If so, do you know how to do this? Or is this the first you have heard of the nitrogen cycle and cycling a tank?
Without a reliable test for ammonia change half the water every day until you can test for it. I would get a liquid test kit rather than strips. API freshwater master test kit is a good one to go for. It covers what you need, is fairly reliable and easy to use, and as you get 100s of tests from the kit much more cost effective long run than strips.
How big is your tank? How many orandas do you have in there?
The cloudiness is a normal part of the cycling process and is bacteria feeding on nutrient imbalances and growing in such numbers you can see them in the water. It's called a bacterial bloom. The cycling process grows a different bacteria that will outcompete the ones causing the cloudiness which will die off as your cycle establishes and the water should become clear over time.
Cycling a tank before you get fish can take a few weeks, maybe months. And adding cycle booster and a bit of food isnt going to do it. You are now doing a fish in cycle.
What cycle booster did you use?
For now, do those daily water changes. When you have a reliable test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate you can start to cycle the tank. Test daily for ammonia and nitrite. Add those test results together. If the combined total of those 2 tests is higher than 0.5ppm combined change enough water to bring it below that 0.5ppm combined target. Once you are seeing zero ammonia and nitrite in your daily tests you are cycled.
Adding some more of the cycle booster might help. They dont always work very well, but some are better than others. If you know anyone who keeps fish, assuming their fush are healthy, see if you can get a little filter media or a sponge from their filter and either put the filter media in your filter, or squeeze the dirty sponge into your aquarium.
Ive never heard of anyone testing for lead in an aquarium. What level of lead would you say is safe in aquariums?Another crucial aspect to consider is regularly testing your water for lead. It's an important routine that contributes to the overall safety of your water supply. I recommend using lead test strips, which are conveniently available on amazon. These strips provide a cost-effective solution, and a single purchase can last for a considerable period.
There is an issue here in the States with lead pipes that have corroded and releasing lead into the water. I was looking around to see if anybody came up with a definitive answer on it's safety in aquariums and see a lot of misinformation. So here's the poop on what I know about lead because I use it in my business: PURE lead ( a.k.a. Soft lead), like the kind they use for plant weights, has no other chemicals in it and unless you are using a lot of it, should not be toxic in a FRESHWATER aquarium IF you use it in higher Ph water ( 8.0 and higher). The lower the Ph falls from 8.0, the faster the lead will dissolve. Lead is a heavy metal so unless you are using a product that continually removes heavy metals 24/7 in lower Ph water, there is a possibility of lead contamination in the tank.Ive never heard of anyone testing for lead in an aquarium. What level of lead would you say is safe in aquariums?